The present invention relates generally to the field of identification, classification, and inventory tracking of articles sold or stored in bulk. In particular, the present invention relates to an article and method utilized for identifying, classifying, and tracking articles that are packaged or stored in bulk wherein the packaging is such that only one surface of the articles are viewable by the user, and where the articles are of the type having an elongate substantially cylindrical shape with a first end surface that is normally the same visually as a second end surface.
Some articles are packaged in bulk and sent to the consumer in that condition, and when the consumer receives the articles, the packaging is opened in such a way that only one surface of the articles is visible. The articles can be packaged such that the articles themselves could be visible, or alternatively, they could be packaged in boxes or cartons having a surface visible. One such example is in the field of elongated fluorescent light bulbs.
When bulbs are commercially sold, they are shipped in cartons. The cartons contain a number of bulbs and are typically opened on one end, thereby exposing the end surface of one end of each bulb. When the carton is opened, all of the visible end surfaces are identical and all of the end surfaces are unmarked. Typically, the carton is used to store the new bulbs and when the new bulbs are placed into service, old, used, or depleted bulbs are often placed into the carton until they can be properly disposed of. This method of using a single carton to store the new and old bulbs reduces the space needed to store the new and old bulbs, reduces the risk of breakage, and reduces the amount of handling required to place the bulbs in a second carton.
The problem for the user, is that the new and old bulbs look alike when viewed from their end surfaces. Therefore, the user must at least partially remove bulbs from the carton in order to identify whether any particular bulb is a new or old one. This process takes time and increases the risk of damaging the bulbs. For individual applications each time a bulb is changed, the process must be repeated. In commercial applications, where large numbers of bulbs are changed, when the process is repeated for each bulb over the course of a day, the time spent becomes significantly more tangible.
Furthermore, as the carton becomes filled with old, used, or depleted bulbs, the task of finding a new bulb becomes increasingly difficult because the ratio of new bulbs to old bulbs becomes smaller. Other systems have been attempted wherein two cartons are utilized, one carton for new bulbs and one carton for old, used, or depleted bulbs. However, this system needs twice as much storage space and typically requires the user to take two cartons along during the changing of the bulbs. Furthermore, when an empty carton is used to hold the old, used, and/or depleted bulbs, there is a substantially higher risk of breakage of the bulbs because the bulbs can more readily move around within the confines of the carton.
Therefore, there is a need in the art of identification, classification, and inventory management for an article and method that enables a user, of articles shipped in bulk, to identify, classify, and track an article merely from a visible surface of the article.
The present invention addresses these needs, as well as other problems associated with the identification, classification, and inventorying of articles stored or shipped in bulk.
The present invention relates to an article and method for identification, classification, and inventory tracking of articles in bulk. Each article has a first state. The state is the condition of the article includes such states as new, used, broken, or depleted, etc. When the article is in its first state, it will have a perception that is an identifiable characteristic which differentiates it from articles being in other states. The article has a second perception that is representative of a second state of the article. The second perception may be fixed upon or within the article or, in the alternative, the first perception may be such that, when the article changes state, the first perception changes into the second perception.
The method comprises providing at least one article having a first state and a second state and providing each article with a first perception indicating the first state and a second perception indicating the second state of the article.
The above mentioned benefits and other benefits of the invention will become clear from the following description by reference to the accompanying drawings.